A New Problem at Resorts: Why Thousands of Sun Loungers Remained Empty All Day.

According to The Sun: During my vacation in Turkey this summer, I finally witnessed the scramble for sun loungers by the hotel pool at 7 AM - although the early morning hunt for spots genuinely perplexed me.

I noticed a new inappropriate trend affecting British tourists at hotel resorts, and it is quite inappropriate.

After breakfast at our resort, I went down to the pool at 9 AM and found that all the loungers had already been reserved.

Even though it was still early morning, it was practically impossible to find loungers together, even though there were only two adults and one child in our party.

This isn't new; over the years, social media has been filled with videos of adults competing by the pool to grab a spot as soon as the gates open.

But my question isn't really about the early birds (early to rise means catching the worm and all that), but about the parents who reserve loungers for their children.

Since 99% of the time these loungers are empty.

At a hotel like mine, which had seven pools, water slides, kids' clubs, and sports activities, it was rare to see a child relaxing on a lounger.

This meant that hundreds of loungers around every pool were empty all the time. Whether it was 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, or 4 PM.

Considering the 45-degree heat when I was looking for a shaded spot for my 67-year-old mother, it was quite frustrating.

Some families of up to eight people claimed entire rows and then left them empty for the whole day.

Tips for Traveling with Children

As a travel writer, I often take my six-year-old child with me on trips abroad as a single parent - here are some of my best tried and tested ways to make traveling painless.

• Let the child manage their own suitcase.
• Use ziplock bags.
• Always carry paper and a pen.
• Pack food for a picnic if you are staying at a hotel with a buffet.
• Engage the child with chess.
• Buy a Lego magazine before heading out.
• Use Sun Bum sunscreen.

So many people today believe that their holidays or experiences are more important than anyone else's. We are all here for relaxation and peaceful times, but these self-serving loungers are completely unaware of how their behavior affects other families.

If people were less self-serving, there would be enough space for everyone, and there wouldn't be reasons to fight for loungers at 9 AM.

Then we could all have a stress-free holiday.